Rejected to Joy

The Roman Catholic Lectionary offers texts for some regions who will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Sunday. The episode from the Book of Acts tells of first journey of Paul to Corinth where he builds a community of Christians while living and working with a Jewish couple who had been expelled from Rome. Some scholars have determined that this expulsion of Jews from Rome was related to the disputes between followers of Jesus and other Jews in the synagogue in Rome. The text today reveals that the message of Paul would be rejected by the synagogue in Corinth, though Paul would attract leading Jews and some Gentiles to Jesus before Paul left Corinth for Ephesus. The missionary work of Paul continued with the Corinthians through visiting missionaries and letters to the believers in Corinth. The Gospel from John also tells of separation of the leader, in this case, Jesus from the His disciples by the rejection of His message by the religious authorities. The exile imposed on Jesus was death and His return to His believers would be experienced through the Holy Spirit as intimacy with the Love which was exhibited on the cross. The sorrow of being rejected and of having gifts of life be refused is as old as Genesis. The psalmist reminds us of the salvation history which makes clear that God is steadfast in continuing to offer life. Our rejection of God through His prophets and His Son continues. We will know the joy of Life after the rejection as we continue to keep the faith.